The Art of Software Investigation

Although processes and tools play an important role in software testing, the most important testing tool is the mind. Like scientists, testers search for new knowledge and share discoveries—hopefully for the betterment of people’s lives. More than sixty years ago, William I.B. Beveridge reframed discussion of scientific research in his classic book The Art of Scientific Investigation . Rather than add to the many texts on the scientific method, he focused on the mind of the scientist. Join Ben Simo as he applies Beveridge’s principles and techniques for scientific investigation to software testing today. Learn to discover and communicate new knowledge that matters; to think—and test—like scientists; and to continually prepare, experiment, exploit chance, imagine productively, apply intuition and reason, tune observation, and overcome resistance. Be prepared to appreciate and use our most powerful testing tool – our brain and minds - in this thought-provoking session. Take away an appreciation of the power of your own mind.

With more than two decades of experience, Ben Simo , aka QualityFrog, is a skilled context-driven software tester who views software testing as a cognitively complex activity that requires critical thinking, effective communication, and rapid self-directed learning. Ben approaches software testing as a search for knowledge―both confirming existing beliefs and seeking out the unknown, gathering information to enable informed decision making. He has applied his testing skills for companies large and small in industries from defense and healthcare to finance and Internet services. A member and past president of the Association for Software Testing, Ben operates IsThereAProblemHere.com, a blog that provides software professionals an opportunity to laugh and learn from wild-caught software failures.